In the past quarter-century athletes and coaches have come to realize that the vertical leap of an athlete is a good indicator of success in a wide variety of sports. As such, today an athlete's vertical leap is used to measure an athlete's capabilities in much the same way the 40 yard dash is used. With this recognition of the importance of the vertical leap, athletes now train to improve their vertical leap. Accordingly, devices that safely and accurately measure an athlete's vertical leap are in demand.
Prior art jump trainers have failed to incorporate adequate safety features to minimize the risk of an athlete being injured while measuring vertical leap. A common problem with early jump trainers, such as the one of U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,050 was that they were prone to tip over and cause injury to the athlete or coach. To alleviate this problem manufacturers focused on improving the base of the unit that rests on the floor.
One common solution was to add the capability of adding weights in the form of barbell plates to the base. While attempting to solve one problem, another was created. Since jump trainers are commonly located in weight rooms, athletes often remove weights from the base for use on other machines. Such removal again revealed the natural tendency of the jump trainer to tip over. Additionally, the barbell plates are often left scattered around the area of the trainer creating potential hazards for the users. After all, if an athlete measuring their vertical leap lands with a portion of a foot on a plate, even if the plate is only one-quarter to one-half inch thick, the athlete often ends up with a severely sprained, or broken, ankle. Still further, the base units outfitted to accept barbell plates generally include a six to eight inch steel post extending vertically from the corners of the base unit to accept the barbell plates. These steel posts create a potentially life threatening hazard to an athlete that has lost their balance and is falling in the vicinity of the posts.
Yet another problem with conventional jump trainers is that they consume a great deal of floor space and are not easily stored. It is common to see jump trainers scattered about a gymnasium during volleyball or basketball practice. Such jump trainers are a dangerous hazard to a player chasing a ball out of bounds.
Wall-mounted jump trainers have alleviated some of the previously mentioned safety hazards, but not all. For instance, the wall-mounted jump trainer of U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,903 addresses the safety issues surrounding the base of floor mounted units, but presents other safety issues and drawbacks. For instance, the '903 device is a fixed jump trainer that is not vertically adjustable and is permanently affixed to the wall. Rigidly attached jump trainers that extend orthogonally from the wall pose just as great a danger, if not greater, to athletes than ground mounted units. In such installations the bottom of the jump trainer is at the head height of many athletes and creates an even greater danger than the floor mounted units, because it is rigidly attached to the wall. Therefore, one can imagine that if such wall-mounted trainers were located around the perimeter of a gymnasium, an athlete chasing a loose ball could accidentally strike the device and knock themselves unconscious.
Accordingly, the art has needed a wall-mounted jump training apparatus that is easy to use, safe, and can be conveniently stored away when not in use.